Bicentennial Dawn (1976)

by Louise Nevelson (1899 - 1988)

Title

Bicentennial Dawn
Artist

Louise Nevelson (1899 - 1988)
Year

1976
Location

James A. Byrne Federal Courthouse (interior), 601 Market Street; Hours: 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., M–F; security check-in required
Medium

Painted wood, on terra-cotta pavers
Dimensions

Height 15′; width 90′; depth 30′ (including pavers)
Themes

Women and Public Art

Commissioned by the Federal Government, General Services Administration

Owned by the Federal Government, General Services Administration

At A Glance

Please note that security check-in is required to view this sculpture
Consists of 29 intricately patterned wooden columns and 4 pieces affixed to the ceiling
Inspired by primitive art—particularly, the ruins of pre-Columbian cultures in Central America
The sculpture was dedicated in January 1976, at the dawn of the bicentennial year

Bicentennial Dawn white sculpture — Photo: Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

The overall composition brings to mind a growing process, perhaps of stalks shooting up from the earth.

Commissioned under the Art in Architecture Program of the federal government’s General Services Administration, Louise Nevelson’s Bicentennial Dawn consists of 29 intricately patterned wooden columns, painted entirely white, mounted in the building’s main entrance foyer on three separate bases framed by terra-cotta pavers. In addition to the columns, the central group has four pieces affixed to the ceiling.

Louise Nevelson and First Lady Betty Ford at the dedication of *Bicentennial Dawn*. Photo courtesy Temple University’s Special Collections Research Center

Nevelson extended the idea of a sculptural environment that she had developed in earlier works such as Atmosphere and Environment XII. Like many other artists who came of age in the early twentieth century, Nevelson was inspired by primitive art – particularly, in her case, the ruins of pre-Columbian cultures in Central America – and this influence can be seen in the mysterious, totemic forms of the columns.

Although at first glance the work may be characterized as abstract, Nevelson’s descriptive statement mentions “the secret images that can be found in nature.” The overall composition brings to mind a growing process, perhaps of stalks shooting up from the earth. There are numerous circular and semicircular forms that resemble suns. The interiors of the many-layered columns contrast with the white surfaces, hinting at the theme of dawn as a time “between night and day.” The sculpture was dedicated during an elaborate reception in January 1976, at the dawn of the bicentennial year, and art critic Emily Genauer wrote in the New York Post, “I know of no single public sculpture anywhere in the country more beautiful than this newest Nevelson.”

Adapted from Public Art in Philadelphia by Penny Balkin Bach (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1992).

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